The invention concerns a supporting device that is worn on the human body and counteracts the weight force of the torso in a bent-over posture.
This invention is a preventive device for people working in sectors such as building and agriculture who have to perform upward and downward movements of the torso or assume a bent posture very frequently. It relieves the supportive apparatus and can, in particular, be used for orthopedic application on people already exhibiting symptoms of increased strain on the spinal column due to physically demanding work to protect such people from premature wear, in particular, of the intervertebral disks in the lumbar vertebral region and to maintain performance.
The necessity for the people with the said affliction to be able to use the invention is amply borne out by a statement by the Berufsgenossenschaft (employer's liability insurance association): “One in two pension applications is justified on the grounds of a disorder of the ‘spinal column’ supportive system.”
The closest prior art to the invention are the following applications: DE 10 2004 009 315 A1 describes a device to take the strain off the back when bending or re-adopting an upright posture by means of two curved flat sections that are rigidly horizontally interconnected on the back and worn over the shoulders. From the horizontal connection, a height-adjustable U-shaped curved section extends downward and curves away from the body in the buttock region. A pull strap runs over this curvature and is connected to the horizontal connection and also, below the buttocks in the user's crotch, to a horizontally extending textile strap that has two leg loops, one at each end.
The disadvantage of this design is that this upper part in the shoulder regions cannot be adjusted to individual body dimensions and the lower horizontal connection to the leg loops restricts freedom of movement of the legs. Above all, the strain on the intervertebral disks is increased when the torso is bent due to the design using a pull strap.
DE 196 52 416 A1 describes a device as an orthopedic body brace for supporting the human torso in a bent-over posture with articulations disposed above the hip region that contain, a helical spring and from which supporting arms extend upward on the torso that are connected to the torso by supporting straps as well as supporting arms extending toward the thighs from the articulations on the side of the body that at least partially surround the thighs.
The disadvantage of this design is that the user can only perform walking movements under spring tension, that lateral movements of the torso are not possible while bending the torso without the complete supporting structure losing its position on the body, that the user cannot make lateral leg movements, that, while bending the torso, the lateral torsional forces of the lower supporting arms can be transferred to the upper supporting arms that can rotate laterally away from the body and restrict arm movements.